Police shootings: A slow, secretive process

An officer-involved shooting on Anne Drive near La Palma Avenue around 4 p.m. Saturday in Anaheim left one man shot and he was rushed to UCI Medical Center in Orange. KEVIN WARN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Police officersâ€™ â€œBill of Rightsâ€

State law establishes strict guidelines for how police officers are to be treated when they come under investigation from their own departments:

•They can only be interrogated at a "reasonable hour" or must be paid overtime.

•They must be informed of the nature of the investigation before any interrogation.

•The interrogation can only be for a "reasonable period."

•They cannot be "subjected to offensive language" during an interrogation.

Source: California Government Code

Two gunshots from police. A suspected gang member down. No weapon found.

That's the scenario that helped spark rioting and demands for answers and explanations in Anaheim this week. It's also the scenario that left a teenager lying on the ground next to his bicycle in 2009 – one of several cases that offer a glimpse at the investigation to come following the recent Anaheim shooting.

The officers in that 2009 case said they saw the suspect reach for his waistband and, fearing that he had a weapon, fired – the same explanation given by the officer who shot and killed Manuel Diaz last weekend. The District Attorney's Office investigated the 2009 shooting for 10 months, and then cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing; the 18-year-old suspect, Salvador Guillen, who survived, was never charged.

Answers and explanations do not come quickly when it comes to officer-involved shootings. That reality engenders in some a sense of mistrust and a belief that the process is skewed toward law enforcement, as evidenced by the civil unrest in Anaheim.

The District Attorney's Office has just begun its probe into the shooting death of Diaz and another fatal police shooting, also in Anaheim, that killed Joel Mathew Acevedo the next day. In that case, police said Acevedo, also a known gang member, opened fire on officers during a foot chase.

If past police-shooting investigations are a guide, then answers in both cases still are several months away – if not longer.

"This is not like 'CSI' on TV," said Curtis Cope, a former Huntington Beach Police lieutenant and expert on police practices for nearly three decades. "You can't get all of the evidence in 48 minutes."

The lengthy investigations into police shootings and other in-custody deaths have rarely ended with the officers involved facing criminal charges. Longtime staffers in the District Attorney's Office said they could remember only one case that resulted in criminal charges in recent years: the recent beating death of Fullerton transient Kelly Thomas.

One officer has been charged with murder, another with involuntary manslaughter, in connection with Thomas' death

CAN TAKE A YEAR

Investigations into fatal police shootings typically take a year or longer, with little information released until well after the case has faded from the headlines. In one recent case, the District Attorney's Office took 26 months before releasing its findings in the shooting of a robber armed with a replica handgun.

Even investigations into non-fatal police shootings can take seven months or more, a review of recent District Attorney "conclusion letters" shows.

The D.A.'s Office began releasing those letters to the public in late 2010 in an effort to "foster greater accountability and transparency in law enforcement," District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said at the time. The public letters, he said, should also develop "greater public confidence and understanding in the integrity of the process."

Those investigation letters – once released only to police chiefs – lay out in pages and pages of detail the events leading up to each shooting, the investigation, and the legal findings. The probes are handled by the Special Assignments Unit, whose investigators typically respond to a shooting scene within the first hour, according to the investigation letters.

The D.A.'s Office only looks at possible criminal culpability during OIS investigations, and does not address police policies, training or tactics, or possible civil liability.

Videos: Anaheim protests

580 total width layout with 365x205 player. Designed for homepage layout with

An officer-involved shooting on Anne Drive near La Palma Avenue around 4 p.m. Saturday in Anaheim left one man shot and he was rushed to UCI Medical Center in Orange. KEVIN WARN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anaheim police in tactical gear secure Guinida Lane in Anaheim on Sunday night after police fatally shot a man after he opened fire during a pursuit, according to police. The shooting was the second fatal officer-involved shooting in as many days. KEVIN WARN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Angry residents take over the streets around Anaheim City Hall Tuesday as they protest the recent shootings by Anaheim police. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
More than 100 family and friends of Manuel Angel Diaz march down Anna Drive in Anaheim on Monday night to show their outrage over the shooting death of Diaz by Anaheim police. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anaheim police, detectives and city officials meet on Guinida Lane Sunday night after a gang officer shot and killed a man who police said shot at him during a foot pursuit. KEVIN WARN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.